Ferguson reforms met with rancor at city meeting

FERGUSON, MO - Elected leaders in the St. Louis suburb where an unarmed black 18-year-old was fatally shot by a white police officer hoped to use their first public meeting since Michael Brown's death to promote community healing.

Instead, they were greeted Tuesday night with anger, outrage and warnings of voter retribution at the ballot box. Proposals to overhaul the municipal courts and create a citizen police review board were greeted warily.

The shooting last month exposed an undercurrent of racial unrest in Ferguson and other nearby suburbs, and prompted days of sometimes-violent protests.

The meeting, one month after Brown's death, was held in a local church to accommodate a crowd of several hundred. Speaker after speaker expressed doubt about the city's planned reforms - and anger at the officials on the stage.